The Hero of the Aura
by Snow Cloak
Summary: An army of creatures called "Dark Auras" were threatening to wipe out the "Aura Guardians", a faction of warriors blessed by Arceus with the power of Aura. What hero will rise from the ashes to defeat them this time, when they return? Medieval AU.
1. Prologue

**Hello, everyone! I'm back with the new story I promised! I hope you enjoy this, because I spent quite a few days on it. I won't keep you too long, but there's a few things I have to say first.**

**Avrey Wilson belongs to PhantoMNiGHT321 and I have permission from him to use him, with a few changes from me, of course!**

**I'd also like to give a shout out to Fire Drastar, who I also requested an OC from, but sorry, it turns out I only need one OC! Sorry for that, but I mentioned you here, so hopefully we're even, and I won't end up waking up dead :D**

**Finally, I'm amazed I didn't say this in my last story at all but...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon at all!**

**EDIT: You have a point Nauran, I think I'll introduce an OC into the story gradually. **

* * *

_Prologue_

Aura is the life force that exists in all living beings, and when something causes the aura to manifest into different forms, well, something horrible happens. Sometimes the natural aura in the world gets disturbed, be it by evil, or a catastrophe. And when the aura is disturbed, the natural balance of the world is disturbed.

When something, or someone's aura is contaminated and changed, that beings physical form changes, and so does its mind. The being becomes a horrible monster – a dark aura. Dark aura's will attack anything it sees, and has vicious tools to do so, claws, teeth, venom even.

While dark auras are usually caused by an almost undetectable wave of darkness, which contaminates the aura of creatures in its wake, there are exceptions. Dangerous exceptions. However the as-close-to-natural-as-an-unnatural-abomination-of-nature Dark Auras lose their ability to think rationally upon being transformed, resulting in them simply attacking anything they see, and as such only posed a threat to small, undefended villages and towns. If they even tried to attack anything bigger, they'd be cut down in moments.

That's not to say Dark Auras aren't dangerous. Oh no, dark auras are definitely dangerous, but we'll get to that later.

Then, there are aura guardians, the opposite of dark auras, who were formed when a group of peasants were blessed by Arceus with the ability to manifest, control and detect aura, similar to the abilities of Riolu and Lucario. Dark auras showed up on their aura sense like beacons, and they homed in on them, killing hundreds of dark auras and saving hundreds of lives in a matter of weeks.

Knowing the Dark Aura threat would eventually grow, they started searching the continents for people with the locked-up power of aura within them, which had lain dormant throughout their lives.

They formed an empire, stretching across the previously unclaimed continent of Kanto, with an organized military force consisting of Aura Guardians and regular soldiers, who were regularly dispatched to investigate whenever a spike of bad aura was detected in an area, to deal with the inevitable Dark Auras who would appear in the area, ravaging villages and farmland.

The other continents respected them, as they alone could find Dark Auras before they could do much damage. They soon grew wary of the Aura Guardians, however, as their power and influence grew, but for the time being, they wouldn't do anything to stop them, and thus the Aura Guardians were left to grow in peace.

Of course, eventually, something had to go wrong.

* * *

Sir Aaron was a normal Aura Guardian for most of his life – He trained as an apprentice, got knighted into the ranks of the Aura Guardians and fought Dark Auras constantly. On the outside, he seemed like a totally normal Aura Guardian, exactly like all the rest.

His aura, however, was different.

Darkness weaved its way through his aura is thin, invisible strands. Whatever being that had planted it had obviously hid it well, as Aaron and all the other Aura Guardians didn't notice his aura being poisoned.

The seeds of the darkness remained dormant for a few years after he was knighted, but then, it gave Aaron the worst possible thing that it could, a thing that could destroy kingdoms, ruin lives, kill millions of people, and in this case, that's exactly what it would do.

It gave him an idea.

'_Why are you stopping the Dark Auras?'_

Of course, the "Aura Guardian" part of his subconscious reasoned that it was because the Dark Auras were evil, and they were good.

'_If you worked with the Dark Auras, you could conquer the world… The aura would rule over everything.'_

Of course, he thought nothing of this conversation in his mind, seeing as it happened in his subconscious, and went on with his daily life.

The darkness dug deeper and deeper into his subconsciousness, and of course went undetected. The guardians could detect darkness in auras, but the mind was an entirely different story. Not even the most powerful psychic would be able to penetrate the defences of the powerful darkness rooted in Aaron's brain, though.

It all reached a climax when he was sent on his most important mission ever. There had been little Dark Aura activity lately, and as such the council had been assigning odd jobs to help various continents to the Guardians instead.

Aaron's job was near the tree of beginning, one of the most powerful sources of aura, and a place where many Guardians went to increase their strength.

Two massive armies of Pokémon and Human's had amassed in an area nearby, and were going to start a bloody battle, one in which thousands of Pokémon would be killed. Aaron was sent to channel aura from the tree to implant peaceful thoughts in them, stopping the battle, but to do so would cost him his life.

If he were any other Guardian, he would have done it happily – The Guardians would lay down their life for the greater good, but he was no ordinary Guardian. The darkness in his heart, mind and soul took its chance, making him doubt whether or not sacrificing himself for a bunch of "pathetic barbarians" was right.

And so, as he prepared to channel the aura, his mind was full of doubts and regrets, linked to his mind and aura by strands of dark aura. And as he channelled the aura, a very strange (But terrible) thing happened, that would cause the death of millions.

What happened, you ask? The darkness and doubt that was running through Aaron's mind contaminated the aura energy that flowed through him, and by now you should know what contaminated aura does. It rushed over the two armies, transforming them all into Dark Auras, while Aaron finally snapped, and smiled, seeing the huge army in front of him; an army that would do anything for him, their new master.

And so the first Dark One was created.

In the following weeks, an investigation team was sent when it was discovered that the two armies had disappeared into thin air. There were no signs of a battle in the area that they had been in, and the Council had detected a HUGE spike of dark aura energy emanating from that very same area.

They found nothing, and even after months of searching, they found no evidence to any more dark aura energy, no dark aura outbreaks, no nothing. The case was dismissed and everyone forgot about it.

In the following years, Dark aura outbreaks would almost quadruple in number, but no dark aura were found. It almost seemed as if the dark auras were falling back to somewhere, as soon as they were made.

Aura guardians and apprentices would disappear without a trace. There would be no signs of struggle, no signs that something was mentally wrong with them. They just disappeared, and no one could find them.

The council started getting increasingly worried. What was going on with the dark auras? There had even been reports of large groups of dark aura raiding groups targeting cities, in large numbers. This was unheard of! The dark auras weren't organized and never bothered with strategy, but now it seemed that entire cities were being taken down by them.

Of course, it was only minor, and the other powers of Sinnoh, Johto and Hoenn dismissed it as barbarian raiding.

You probably have guessed by now that this was all caused by Aaron, who had forsaken his name, and was simply known as "Darkness" by those following him. He could literally be seen as the embodiment of darkness. He would, from time to time, kidnap apprentices and Aura Guardians, before implanting the very idea that made him what he was, and most of them would fall before it, following its rule. The ones that didn't he simply killed.

The Dark Ones he recruited, along with himself, would then go to rural areas, channelling dark aura to unleash waves of contaminated auras. They had no power source besides the channeller, so were far weaker than the first, but they served their purpose, creating Dark Auras to serve the Dark Ones.

They were patient, knowing their chance would come. They would do their work quietly and in short bursts. Whenever they thought there was a good chance of any nation or the Council growing too suspicious, they ceased activities, waiting for things to calm down.

And so the years passed, and the Dark Ones grew vastly in strength and number. Now they had the power to oppose all, and were waiting for the chance… the chance to start a threat that would topple and divide empires, wiping across the entire world, killing all in its wake, if not stopped.

The attacks and the kidnappings stopped. In fact, all Dark Aura attacks stopped, and there was no sign of them for decades. It seemed to everyone that the Dark Aura surges had finally stopped. The Aura Guardians could rest in peace, without having to worry about chasing Dark Auras.

The Council grew slack, as did the Aura Guardians. They stopped training as often, believing that it wasn't as necessary, and the Council cut defences everywhere. It was a time of peace and prosperity.

Or so they thought.

* * *

The Dark Ones had waited – waited for the day when the foolish Aura Guardians would grow slack. Their chance was now, while their opponent had their guard down. They had been waiting and building up for decades… This was their times. They would bring in a golden age. An age, where they ruled SUPREME.

Just to show their sheer strength, they swept across Johto, decimating it in a matter of months. Tens of thousands were killed – The only ones spared were the healthy men, who were sent to work as slaves, never to be seen again. They slaughtered children, women and elderly alike, not even flinching when they hacked down crying children, or grandparents who were on their knees, begging as they were decapitated. After all, they had no emotions. They had one purpose – to kill.

The Johto Royal Family was slaughtered in the eye of the remaining public, killed one by one, in disgustingly terrible ways, yet no one could look away. The sight had a strange fascination to it. It was revolting and made you want to throw up, but it you just couldn't look away from.

By the time news of this reached Kanto, it was too late. The Dark Aura swept through the poorly defended region, destroying cities and taking more slaves, killing many brave Aura Guardians, who were easily overwhelmed through sheer numbers, though each took hundreds of Dark Aura with them, before they finally fell.

But the hordes kept on coming, tens of thousands of them at once, and it seemed all was lost. The remaining Aura Guardians and soldiers grouped up in the capital of Kanto, Fort Aurelia (Which, by the way, is pronounced, Or-Ay-Lee-Ar). It would be the last stand of the Guardians, the last battle, the last day.

"Men, this may be the last hour of the Guardians, and so it is fitting we make our last stand here, in the birth place of the spark of the Aura Guardians, the centre of our empire! The enemies outside our walls outnumber us at least one hundred to one, but quality matters far more in a battle than numbers, and I think we have the advantage in that regard! If these fiends are going to take us down, we're going to make it damn hard for them! Prepare yourselves men, for the final battle of the legendary Aura Guardians, and let us make it a battle for the legends indeed!"

The fort doors slammed open, and the first wave of Dark Aura swarmed in. A few men recoiled slightly from the horrid sight, but the rest looked solemnly at them, not even flinching as they charged towards their line.

The first line was wiped out by a volley of arrows, but more just swarmed back in. They crashed against the shield wall of the Guardians, and a fierce battle begun. It seemed the Guardians had the advantage – the Knights killed hundreds of Dark Aura, and the rest of the troops killed many as well.

But soon it became apparent that they were losing this battle. While the Guardians were tiring, and their numbers were falling, the Dark Aura swarm seemed to be endless. For every one killed, three seemed to take its place, again and again. For every way they wiped out, another simply took its place.

And yet they fought on regardless, not caring whether or not they died, for what is death to a man who has already resigned to death? These men knew they would not be leaving this fort alive, but they were damn well going to take down as many Dark Auras as possible, before they met their inevitable end.

* * *

Close by, an army was stirring. An army of peasants, all armed with weapons and cheap armour. The group consisted of men and women of all ages – Adults, young adults, teenagers, even! And at the head of the army was a man who seemed no more than 16 years old himself, but had the look of a champion, a man who could lead any unorganized rabble into an army.

He looked upon his army, seeing the determined faces of the men and the women. These people had given up everything to fight the menace. They knew that many of them would die, but they knew they would die anyways.

The numbers were huge – they seemed to have numbers that could rival even the Dark Aura. Everyone was armed with some sort of weapon – the nobles were armed with beautifully crafted weapons, while the poor were armed with anything from a spear to a mere sharpened stick.

They were all armed with a different kind of weapon however – The kind of weapon that couldn't be broken, couldn't be matched. They were all fighting to save their families, their friends, their country.

And so, towards Fort Aurelia they marched. They followed the trail of destruction – the ruined villages, the burning forests, the trail of smoke in the horizon, marching day and night, and ready to fight always, reaching Fort Aurelia just in time to see the huge horde outside it, swarming into the fort with everlasting numbers.

Looking behind himself, the boy saw thousands of villagers, all ready to fight, and to die. He didn't reassure them of victory – They all knew defeat was a very possible possibility. He didn't reassure them of returning home, champions – Most of these people had already had their homes burned and their families killed, or taken away as slaves. These people had nothing left to live for, which was good, for many would die this day.

And so, wordlessly, he started running towards the back of the enemy lines with a roar, the roar of thousands behind him.

* * *

The Guardians were at breaking point now – a bit longer and their lines would break, leaving the Dark Auras to swarm into the fort, splitting the army in half.

By now, the archers had used their last arrows, and grabbed daggers, rushing into the battle to help.

The end was nigh, and everyone knew it.

But then – A sound was heard. It started with a single, faint roar, and slowly, a louder sound was heard, the sound of an army. But to the Guardians, the sound was one thing, a sound they rejoiced at upon hearing. It was the sound of hope.

And so the ragtag army of peasants smashed into the back of the Dark Aura lines, swarming forwards, slaughtering many. The Dark Aura were now trapped between the hammer of the new rabble, and the anvil of the Guardians.

The hero (Remember, the 16 year old guy who was leading the peasant "army"?) himself swept through the Dark Auras like they were nothing, and even used aura powers to compliment his skill.

Finally, he fought his way to the Dark Aura command centre, where he fought "Aaron" (If he still could be called that) of the Dark Ones, defeating him, causing the Dark Ones to retreat from Kanto, along with their army.

It took many decades for Kanto and Johto to recover from the devastating destruction that the Dark Ones caused. A group of rebels emerged from Kanto, and took control of the continent from the Guardians, believing that the Guardians could not be trusted with the safety of Kanto, and thus the Guardians were exiled to a single corner of the continent, left to watch as the new people of Kanto's empire was restored.

Without the Guardians, however, Dark Aura attacks in all regions increased, with small groups attack towns and villages. It was a dark time for everyone, and still is, with fear of attacks running rampant through kingdoms.

All Guardians were recalled from the regions to Fort Aurelia, where they stayed, training always. The area seemed to be a hotspot for Dark Aura, and so they were kept busy, while the Dark Ones lay in wait, waiting for now, but waiting for a moment of weakness.

The hero had simply vanished after the battle, and he was hailed as a legendary hero in the newly formed Kanto Empire. He was their icon, the one boy who had brought salvation to Kanto, and quite possibly the world. He was the one that gave the people the courage to fight back.

And he was gone.

Or was he…?

* * *

"C'mon Ash, wake up, or we're going to be late!"

"PikaPi, Chu Pi!"

'Ash' was a boy of 15, with raven black hair and warm, friendly brown eyes. He was quite strong – but wasn't muscular, rather, he was lithe and wiry. He was currently in a simple bed, in an even simpler stone room.

He groaned in his sleep, shuffling around in the bed, and swung his arm to the side, saying, "No… Go away, just ten more minutes…" Unluckily for him, however, he hit the Pikachu that was standing on his bedside table, knocking the poor Pokémon onto the floor.

"Pikaaaaaa" came the cry, and before Ash knew it, he was hit with a watered-down (But still painful) thundershock, jolting him awake. In front of him was his faithful partner, looking understandably grumpy, having just been knocked off a table.

"Pikachu Pi, Pika Chu Pi Kachu, Pikachu Pi Chu Ka, Chu Pi PikaPi, Pikachu Chu Pi!" Pikachu said, while Ash just stared blankly at the Pokémon, not knowing that the heck it had just said.

Pikachu face palmed, pointing to Ash's weapons, armour, and anything else he could find related to his Aura Guardian entry ceremony, which was going to happen in about an hour.

Ash jolted up in his bed as his realised what his old friend was trying to tell him, his eyes instantly snapping back to reality from the drowsy land of dreams he had just returned from.

"Oh crap! I'm going to be late!"

* * *

**I'm not sure when I'll be able to get the next chapter up, but it may take 1-3 weeks. School just started so I'm quite busy, but I'll make sure to write in my free time. Anyways, this is just the back story, mainly, and the very start of the actual story, which will start next chapter. If you're curious, I will be writing a more detailed account of the battle of Fort Aurelia in a flashback later on in the story. **

**If you have any questions, comments, constructive criticism or just want to tell me your favourite flavour of ice-cream, go ahead and do so in a review!**

**Bye for now!  
**


	2. Knighthood

**I'm very sorry for the several month long wait, and the fact that this chapter is really quite short. It's just that I've been really busy lately and have started RPing (Role-playing), which usually takes up my writing time. From now on, I'll try to fit in some writing time for this fic every few days, but don't expect updates to be fast. I was planning on making this chapter far longer, but I got annoyed with my slowness and decided to just post if for you guys to read. Assuming I still have readers and everyone hasn't stopped reading. Also, it would be nice if you guys could tell me what chapter length is best. Chapters that are only like 1.5k-2k words feel way too short, but then chapters that are 10k+ feel way too long. Anyways, tell me what you'd prefer in a review or Pm or something of the sort. **

**EDIT: More apologies; Some stupid error has been plaguing my, preventing me from uploading this chapter which I wanted to post, just so you guys know I haven't stopped writing yet.  
**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

'_My name is Ash Ketchum. I'm 15 years old and come from… well; I don't really like to think about where I come from anymore.'_

Ash was currently fumbling as he took off his clothes, his fingers still partly asleep, as he attempted to change into the fancier clothes he would have to wear to the knighting ceremony.

'_You see, quite a few years ago now, my hometown was, well, attacked and razed to the ground by a wandering group of Dark Aura. The town was small, and probably better described as a village, and so it wasn't deemed important enough to have any soldiers stationed there, even though it was in a Dark Aura hotspot.'_

Finally managing to get his ceremonial clothes on, Ash now was throwing things aside, creating even more mess as he attempted to find his weapons. He may not have had many personal belongings, but he had clumped them all in a pile while he was changing, and now he has to shuffle through this pile to find them.

'_Everyone I knew was killed before my eyes. My friends, everyone I knew in the village was gruesomely as I watched, horrified. My parents were retired Aura Guardians – The group of warriors that fight the Dark Aura, and they fought bravely, killing many Dark Aura.'_

After sheathing his sword, he ran to the door. Or at least he would have, if he had not fallen over a certain yellow rodent, and he fell to the ground, face first, before getting shocked with a thunderbolt.

'_But there were too many, and before I knew it, the Dark Aura were looking for me, after killing my parents. They had hidden me in a tree, far above, but it was only a matter of time before they found me too. How I survived is a story for a different day, however. Right now I am rushing to the main room to be knighted – the final stage in the training of any Aura Guardian.'_

Ash ran out the door – this time without tripping, and started running through the stone halls of Fort Aurelius. The Fort had a castle-ish feel to it, but wasn't too regal like a King's Palace, which would have expensive red and gold rugs around the place, along with expensive tapestries on the walls. No, Fort Aurelius was ruled by warriors, and warriors generally frowned upon the trappings of luxury.

'_Sometimes I stop to think about the history of these halls, the battles my brethren fought oh so long ago. It's kind of interesting when you remember that people fought, and died, in these very halls, which haven't seen battle now for many decades._

He continued running, and quickened his pace as he glimpsed the time, seeing that he was nearly late. It would be a close thing, this.

'_After today, I'll become a full Aura Guardian, and I'll be sent out on missions to fight Dark Aura and other cool things!'_

Nearing his destination, Ash stopped to regain his breath for a moment, but then immediately continued, panting heavily as he did.

'_I mean, being an apprentice isn't bad or anything, but it does get awfully boring just staying at the fort for my entire life, training and training, without any real risks.'_

Finally reaching the entrance to the room where he would be accepted into the ranks of the Aura Guardians, Ash dusted off his clothes, trying to look as presentable as possible after that mad dash through the halls.

He took a deep breath and opened the big doors to the room, and they swung open with a loud creaking sound.

The room itself was quite big – about the size of a king's throne room. In fact, it was basically the equivalent of the "Throne room", as it was the council chamber.

Fort Aurelian and the Aura Guardians were not ruled by a single ruler, but instead all decisions were made by the council – a group of people elected to work together to make good decisions for the Guardians.

No system is without its flaws though, and the Council would usually argue for days on end before finally making a decision on something, but that was inevitable, and not something that can be changed, without having a single, all-powerful ruler.

Anyways, the room was grander than the rest of the Fort, but was still relatively basic. In the middle of the room was a large table, with various maps and strategic information on top of it, which the Council were examining now. The walls were covered with paintings, more maps, and pictures of some of the better Council members and Guardians.

There was a fireplace near the table, which currently was being tended by servants, and a few armour and weapon racks by the walls, but the room was still quite bare, compared to most castles.

Around the table were at least 14 people, 12 of whom were members of the Council, who were currently arguing about some probably mundane thing. His entrance into the Guardians was about to start in a few minutes, but that definitely wouldn't stop the Council from arguing.

There was also a bored looking man sitting down – One who someone could easily tell did not belong here. He was wearing a full suit of armour, but looked to be around the age of 50. He was most likely the knight-commander of the Aura Guardians, and only summoned here for the ceremony that was set to occur soon.

And indeed, as he saw Ash enter the room, he turned to the Council (Who had amazingly continued arguing despite the huge noise the door made) and stood up.

"Alright then, seeing as the second recruit is here, we can begin the ceremony!" He bellowed, his voice drowning out the sound of the Council members arguing. His voice was naturally loud and far-carrying from bellowing orders in the middle of loud, chaotic battlefields.

The Council members turned and looked at Ash, grumbling as they saw that the second recruit had indeed arrived, and as a group stood up, walking into positions around the room, as a previously unnoticed boy in the corner walked up to the middle of the room, where Ash followed.

The two of them looked at each other for a moment, and grinned.

"Finally decided to wake up, eh Ash?" The boy said.

Ash shook his head and replied, with a grin on his face, "You know me, Gary."

Gary shook his head and turned back around, now facing the Knight-commander of the Aura Guardians, a well-built man in his 40s, who looked as if he had seen plenty of combat, and indeed he probably had. He was quite big for a man, and his face was stern. He kept his greying hair cut short.

_Gary and I go way back, all the way back to when we were kids, in fact. Back when we were kids, I always wanted to be a strong, powerful warrior, but I was never as strong as the other kids._

_Everyone in my old village used to bully me for it, and Gary was the one who did it the most. Later though, when I found out he had survived the attack as well, he found out I had the gift of aura, and the very fact that I had survived the attack meant something to him._

_Everyone both of us had known were killed – except each other, and it was natural we'd become friends, being the only survivors of our village._

The Knight-commander nodded at the two boys, signalling that the ceremony was going to begin, and both of them looked at each other once more, before kneeling on their knees, heads faced down.

On the left and right of Ash and Gary were a Pikachu and a Blastoise, respectively. Each Guardian would have a Pokémon as their partner. The Pokémon wasn't the Guardians slave or possession; instead they were best friends and life-long partners. A Guardian and their Partner Pokémon were said to be inseparable, always connected by the bonds of friendship, which nothing could sever.

"These two boys have proven time and time again they are worthy of being true Aura Guardians – And true men! Is there anyone in this room that objects to knighting these into the ranks of the Aura Guardians?" The Knight-commander bellowed, and the room was silent – the Council members all actually agreeing on something for once.

"Then rise, Sir Ketchum, Sir Oak, forever Guardians of the Aura! May your weapons strike true against the hearts of the Dark Ones!"

* * *

**EDIT: I have no idea why there was something about Walt Disney. No. Freaking. Idea.**


	3. Tragedy

_**Italics bold = PokeSpeech**_

_Italics = AuraSpeech_

**Hello to the few people who are still following me! I managed to fit in some time between exam studying to write this, and I hope you enjoy it. I'm going to be trying to write more often, but I just don't have the same enthusiasm I did when I first started writing here. Anyways, I'll answer some reviews and you can go on to the chapter! (Or you can just skip it all and start...)**

**Actually from now on I'll be answering ALL reviews by direct reply to email/fanfiction thingy, except the ones with questions, which I'll also put up in the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who sent in a review before now, I won't directly reply to those but any posted from this chapter onwards WILL get a reply. Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: Definite, "Fanfiction"  
**

* * *

_One week later_

The two weapons made a dull thud as they collided together, the dull sound due to the fact that they were both made of wood and blunted as not to cause any real damage to their opponents.

Both wooden swords struggled together, each pushing against the other in a seemingly endless struggle, neither of them willing to give.

But as quickly as it had begun, the two weapons broke away, their owners breaking away from the fruitless struggle they had been entwined in.

The clash was made by two boys standing in the Fort training yard, and had been carefully circling each other a moment before, both with a wooden training sword held out.

One boy definitely looked older, and had spiky brown hair and green eyes. The look on his face was definitely arrogant, and it was debateable whether or not it was his usual face. For anyone who knew him well though, it was definitely his usual face.

He wore a simple black shirt with a purple vest on top, and wore similarly simple blue pants. Right now, however, he wore a thin layer of chainmail instead of his vest, and had another layer below his pants.

The second boy looked shorter and younger than the first, but what he lacked in size, he made up for in enthusiasm and cheerfulness. He had hair similar to the first boy's, except it was black, and he had brown eyes.

His face seemed cheerful and happy, and looked ready to cheer anyone up in tough times. He did seem a bit immature however, but that was inevitable.

His clothes were also similar to the older boy's; a black shirt with a vest, except the vest was blue instead of black. He also wore chainmail, albeit less. Whereas the older boy had it going down his arms and all over his legs, the younger boy's chain was more of a vest on top, and was split in the middle for more flexibility for the legs.

The elder boy seemed more experienced, and the moment the two of them broke off from the clash, he sensed a drop in his opponent's guard, and started a relentless barrage of offensive prowess, unwilling to give way to the other, smaller boy, who was now barely able to parry and dodge all the swipes in time, let alone get in a counterattack of his own.

The older boys strikes were fluid and flowed smoothly from the first attack into the second, into the third and so on; the result of rigorous years of constant exhausting training.

He slashed forwards; and the other boy quickly brought his own sword up to parry the strike.

He swept his sword in an arc, and the other boy stepped to the side, and the attack went wide, but he had no time to launch a counterattack as...

The older boy used the failed momentum from the previous strike, quickly changing the direction of the strike and slashing at the unprotected side of the younger boy…

Who barely brought up his own sword to stop it, tired as he was.

The younger boy wasn't just finished, however, and in a quick sweep he used his speed and agility to launch his legs into a sweep, knocking the older boy off his feet. He lunged forwards at his opponent, his sword appearing pointed at his opponent's throat a moment later.

"Admit it Gary, I defeated you this time!" The younger boy said, grinning madly as he did, happy about his victory over his rival.

"Sorry Ash… But here's one lesson you seem to have forgotten…" Gary's eyes pulsed blue for a moment, emitting a wave of Aura energy, which crashed into Ash, disorientating him and sending him stumbling, "It's that you should NEVER let your guard down."

Gary then kicked Ash in the chest, sending him sprawling to the ground. Gary brought his sword downwards in an arc towards Ash's head, and it was only a moment away from colliding into his head with enough strength to decapitate him (If the sword wasn't wooden, at least).

The sword stopped only inches from his face, and Gary lightly tapped Ash on the forehead, grinning over his victory as he did.

"I win again, Ashy boy." He said simply, grinning as he helped Ash up from the ground.

"I would've won if I had two swords…" Ash grumbled in reply. After brushing the dust off himself, he gave a sharp, loud whistle.

Quite a few meters away, the ears of a certain yellow rodent perked up, and the Pokémon stood up, listening carefully to the foreign sound, before recognizing it and jumping off the branch it had been resting on, a berry in its mouth.

Ash turned around, as a figure burst out from the bushes, berry juice covering its mouth.

"Hey buddy, you ready for tomorrow?" He inquired, apparently talking to the Pikachu that had just answered his call. Pikachu, his partner, his best friend and practically his family; the only family he had left.

"_**Yup! I'm all psyched up for our first adventure! I can't wait! It's going to be fun and exciting and way more fun and exciting than the training we do every day!" **_The Pikachu said, with an enthusiastic and cheerful tone similar to its partner's. Although humans couldn't naturally understand PokeSpeech (It sounded like the Pokémon was just saying its name over and over again), Ash and Pikachu had been together long enough for them to know what each other was saying, and even if that failed, they could still communicate through sending Aura 'messages' through their linked Aura.

The 'messages' weren't exactly messages, they were closer to transmissions, but with the heart. Sending an Aura message was basically sending someone a bunch of emotions, and only people or Pokémon with an Aura linked to yours could decipher them into an actual message.

Back on topic however, the group of four (Ash, Pikachu, Gary and Blastoise) had been preparing to go on a mission (Newly knighted members were usually sent on a mission straight away to give them a taste of what was to come) for the last few days, and tomorrow was finally the day they were going to go.

Naturally all four of them were excited, although each of them showed in in their own way. Pikachu and Ash were excited and enthusiastic about it, while Gary and Blastoise were excited in their own, arrogant, stuck-up way.

_A couple days later_

Ash and Gary, along with Pikachu and Blastoise crept along the dusty dirt road ("Creeping" being a relative term in Blastoise's case). They had been assigned to investigate the Dark Aura sightings around a town that was rather out of the way.

The two boys found it reassuring that the Council was actually caring about towns that had absolutely no defences about all, unlike their town, which the Council had ignored, even though there were reports of Dark Aura moving about in the area.

Their progress was painstakingly slow, as they were tracking a set of footprints that had residue of Dark Aura, and if there were any left in the area, they didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention.

Ash had two sheaths on his belt, both with razor sharp swords in them. They weren't longswords, as they were slightly curved, but not curved enough to be a Katana or Scimitar, they were swords that had been custom smithed by the smithy at Fort Aurelia, especially for Ash.

Gary had a longer, sturdier sword in a sheath on his back, along with a medium-sized shield on top of it.

The two of them had been tracking the prints for hours, in the cold, not even stopping to take a rest as energy-sapping rain poured down upon them. They had to hurry, before the rain completely washed away the residue Dark Aura energy, which was the only thing they could follow now.

A sudden scream pierced the near silence; a scream that sounded distinctively feminine. The two Guardians looked up quickly in the direction of the sound, and sprinted towards it.

A concentration of Dark Aura Energy could be sensed in the same direction as the scream, but the two boys ploughed onwards, ignorant of the possible danger as they burst into the clearing, where a battered and bruised girl was lying unconscious on the ground. Ash was the first to act, and while Gary stood there trying to work out what was wrong with this situation, he ran forwards and felt the girls pulse.

"She's alive! We have to get her out of here!"

Gary knew that something was definitely wrong here; an injured girl lying in the middle of an open clearing was very obviously bait, and the fact that they had sensed Dark Aura in a place where Dark Aura had been sighted practically screamed, "AMBUSH", but Gary's mind was drained and tired from the cold.

By the time he realised what was wrong, they were completely surrounded and utterly outnumbered by Dark Aura, and approaching them slowly, was a Dark One.

The Dark one looked just like a regular human, but there was something just… inhuman about it. It just oozed evil and cruelty, and would easily pass off as an abomination if not for its human form.

It was dressed in long, flowing black robes that blended in with the forest and darkness, and wore a hood over its head, completely masking its face. Gary couldn't tell whether the figure was a male or female, and Ash was too occupied studying the girl on the ground to notice that they had been surrounded.

"Erm, Ash. You might want to see this." Gary whispered, tapping Ash on the shoulder.

Ash turned around, and his eyes instantly widened. There had to be at least a hundred, if not more Dark Aura surrounding them; far too many for rookies like them to handle.

Ash and Gary carefully moved, and stood back to back, with Pikachu and Blastoise flanking them respectively. The Dark One wasn't making a sound as it continued to approach them, walking slowly as if it had all the time in the world.

"_You are Guardians; I smell it in your blood, flowing through your veins…. But all that can change_" The figure transmitted, but it was unlike any other Aura Message. It crept into Ash and Gary's minds, poisoning from within… The darkness slowly taking root…

Before it was wiped out by a flare of mental aura from the two boys.

"_If you're here to try converting us to your cause, you might as well kill us here and now! There's no way we'll join you!"_Ash sent through his Aura, anger flaring through the message. He spoke for Gary, Pikachu and Blastoise all at once, all three of them looking grimly at the scene of certain death that awaited them.

The figure shook its head slowly, before removing its hood, revealing a female face twisted by darkness.

It wasn't twisted in the, "Demented and turned into a disgusting pile of flesh" twisted, but more like darkness was infused in it, and the face looked pure evil.

But more than that; the face radiated power, great power.

Ash recognized the face immediately, and gasped in surprise. Gary realising a moment later, did the same.

"_Yes… I thought the same as you two did before, but the power! The power is unimaginable… This is all worth it for the sheer power I have now…"_ The girl said (Well, transmitted through Aura).

"_No… We all thought you died but this… This is far worse than death. It makes me wish we never knew… What happened to you… Misty?"_ Gary Aurapathed **(The Aura version of Telepathing, A.K.A. transmitted via Aura)**

The figure laughed, and this time spoke with her real voice, the voice sounded as terrible and foreboding as the emotions that had made up the Aurapath.

"The power… IS INCREDIBLE. If you won't join us… I'LL HAVE TO FORCE YOU! UNITS ADVANCE!" She shouted, laughing madly as she did.

"Ash, grab the girl and get out of here, I'll try to hold the Dark Aura back… Jump away through the trees." Gary whispered to Ash in an incredibly selfless and… suicidal act.

"No! I can't let you Gary! You'll die if I leave now, and I can't just leave you here to be killed and maybe even corrupted! You're the only one left from my hometown!" Ash whispered, but in a tone full of emotion, compared to Gary's grim tone, as if he was resigned to his fate.

"No Ash. At least one of us must get away here and tell the Council, and you have the best chance of it… GO! NOW!" The older boy said, shouting the last word in Ash's ear.

"I'll never forget you Gary… You'll be known as a hero…" Ash whispered, as he picked the unconscious girl up, and with a mighty show of strength, he jumped up into a tree. Well actually, the jump was augmented by a blast of Aura energy, but it was still impressive nonetheless.

Gary nodded and looked solemnly at the large force of Dark Aura in front of him. With a mighty war cry, he charged into the mass.

Ash had been running through the trees for hours now, and even he was utterly exhausted and spent. He only gave a second glance back at Gary, before running off into the distance, muttering a prayer, hoping that his last remaining survivor from his town beside him would at least be granted a peaceful death.

The rain finally stopped, and the clouds parted to reveal a beautiful blue sky, as the sun broke the barriers of darkness, washing it all away.

An even more beautiful rainbow appeared on the horizon, but to Ash it was simply mocking him. Gary had made a great sacrifice, and the world mocked him with a beautiful sight? He shoved the thought away for now though, as he turned to look at the still unconscious girl lying on a hastily constructed campsite, and he was greeted with another beautiful sight.

Now that Ash got a good look at her, Ash could see that the girl was indeed very beautiful (Well at least in his mind), even though she was covered in scratches, bruises and had a few deeper cuts.

Ash got to work on the wounds, applying salve and bandages where required.

After a few more hours, the girl finally started to wake, and as her eyes and mouth opened, she managed to croak out a single world.

"W-Water…"

Waking up from his short nap, Ash was surprised by the sound and pulled out his swords, thinking it was another ambush. Not too soon after though, he noticed that the girl had woken, and quickly ran to fetch some water from the nearby stream.

Returning, he slowly gave her some, and her eyes seemed to wake up more, and she seemed just a little less pale.

"What's your name?" Ash asked softly, trying to find out who this girl was and what her link to the Dark Aura was.

The girl was exhausted from just drinking, but managed to get out one last word before falling unconscious.

"May."

* * *

**I'll try get the next chapter up whenever I can, and just as a note, I will be writing out Gary's final battle. It just doesn't do him justice to do otherwise. Also, I plan to keep chapters around this size on average (2.5k words). Like it? Hate it? Tell me, please.**


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